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Who can forget Russia's hosting of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014? No doubt Vladimir Putin's regime was hoping for a reputational boost, but the games ended in a PR disaster whose fallout lasted for years (Photo: FIFA)

Why Europe should stop worrying about 'sportswashing'

by Damien Phillips, London,

The recent furore in the UK over whether prime minister Boris Johnson intervened in Saudi Arabia's failed bid to buy Newcastle United and the indignance of La Liga's chief Javier Tebas, in the controversy over United Arab Emirates-owned Manchester City and its

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Rule of Law Opinion

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Damien Phillips is director of Proactive Public Affairs, and previously worked for the UN in Lagos, and the Adam Smith Institute.

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Who can forget Russia's hosting of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014? No doubt Vladimir Putin's regime was hoping for a reputational boost, but the games ended in a PR disaster whose fallout lasted for years (Photo: FIFA)

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Rule of Law Opinion

Author Bio

Damien Phillips is director of Proactive Public Affairs, and previously worked for the UN in Lagos, and the Adam Smith Institute.

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Related articles

MEP blasts Portugal over football whistleblower

Football's 'Super League' - an own-goal for EU soft power

A new strategy to promote gender equality through football

Rightwing MEPs bend to Saudi will after Khashoggi death

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